BT wrote:Okay. In situation, who would you draft rather than Diogu? Gerald Green? Antoine Wright? Sean May?

So I still think Mullin did the right think choosing Diogu.

Diogu just has to be used! The only type of player that would have been drafted and played straight away would have been a Center! that is it! Baron and JRich certainly weren't going to be benched, same for dun with that horrible new contract! Murphy was always the starter at PF!

tradedunleavy wrote:If we keep murphy we need to get a 5 who can post up, thats all.

That's why we played Ike at the 5 for 2 weeks... Ideally, we'd like Troy or Ike to learn how to play the 5. Murphy's got more of a physical chance at it, but Ike's game is more of a post game. It's a huge question mark the Warriors need to deal with.

You see that Foyle, Murphy and Dunleavy are all locked up for the next 2-4 years.

What would you do with your pick?

What could get you the most VALUE with you pick?

Take Diogu?

Take someone else?

Trade it?

Trade it and Murphy?

I'd really like to know.

Well, first of all, a GM has to know more about the players in the draft than any of us do. There's a team of scouts to follow those players, and there's a lot of info to ponder.

So I don't know who would be the pick. There were none impact centers in the draft at 9th, so it would have been the best sf or pf available. Prolly Diogu, but it's not a lock. Could also trade the pick in a package for the right player.

In that case (picking pf), I'd try to trade Murph for a sf or center. And Dun wasn't re-signed at the draft, so, obviously, I'd also try to trade him, to, at least, get something for him...

But you never know with trades. When you're the one willing to trade, it always depends on the offer you get. So it's not easy to foresee them.

tradedunleavy wrote:If we keep murphy we need to get a 5 who can post up, thats all.

That's why we played Ike at the 5 for 2 weeks... Ideally, we'd like Troy or Ike to learn how to play the 5. Murphy's got more of a physical chance at it, but Ike's game is more of a post game. It's a huge question mark the Warriors need to deal with.

If it's anyone posting up at the 5, it should be Troy. Ike's way too undersized at the 5.

I am having a hard time being very confident so far that Diogu could be a starter in this league on a playoff contending team. Maybe playing with someone like Duncan wouldn't be so much of a problem for Diogu and him being a starter. But on the Warriors, I am having some doubts about whether he will ever be a starter on this team, unless if there are some major changes. My doubts are because of his size, he looks small. I thought he was a little bit taller from the stuff I was reading, and I was someone who was very high on Diogu coming to the Warriors. Also the Warriors' roster doesn't help Diogu either; as already mentioned many times.

In retrospect. If I knew that Chris Taft would had been available in the second round, then I think going with Granger would have been better for this team. It would have probably put Dunleavy's extention on hold(how Dun fooled us with his play at the end of last year!!). Also I think Granger would be a very good fit in this team's starting 5.

But on the other hand, the Wariors needed some help up front with some depth, and the Warriors brought in two good rookie prospects to fill that need. Diogu can be an instant energizer and mismatch for the Warriors off the bench, if the coach knew his skills and could make a game plan to expand these skills into production on the court.

Ike will be a player who may become a starter on a young, slightly re-building team(like the Bobcats, Atlanta, etc.). But on a good team, I think Ike would be one of those very good sixth men off the bench, to come in and make some immediate energy and help, or in one word he will make an impact.

If Diogu can become money from 15-18 feet from the basket, then that will help him a lot. Because if we just put him in the post against other starting PF's, or centers, then I think he will struggle(This is why I have doubts that he could be a starter in the NBA). But his FG shooting and range was something that I liked about him in the draft. I would like to see Montgomery and the Warriors discover this talent more on the court, and have it become more production.

Well, after playing a large position his whole life, he's learned to cope. What he doesn't have in height, he makes up for with slick post moves, a solid midrange J, and the ability to get bumped while putting the ball in. Plus, you may not know that Ike Diogu has a 7'4" wingspan, so blocking shots, rebounding, and shooting over players isn't as tough as it would seem at 6'8". He's smaller than most PF's, that's true, but don't think he's handicapped in any way. Disregarding the Heat game (where Shaq bent him over a table and had his way with him), I've yet to see Ike be physically handled by anybody. His height doesn't hurt him.

Clif25 wrote:In retrospect. If I knew that Chris Taft would had been available in the second round, then I think going with Granger would have been better for this team.

I could have lived with that. Danny Granger's got skills and he might have brought the frontcourt toughness we need. However, we've already got one project for center (Biedrins). Bringing in another would do to Granger what is being done to Taft right now: he'd become a habitual towel and Gatorade boy. Murphy plays 80% of the minutes at the PF spot, giving Ike somewhere between 15-20% of the time. Chris Taft will be lucky to see 5 minutes a game when he comes back. I've a hunch Granger would have been more of the same.

Clif25 wrote:If Diogu can become money from 15-18 feet from the basket, then that will help him a lot.

I think his midrange is fine, actually. I mean, he'll never be the type of Troy Murphy, step-back-to-20-feet shooter that would seriously compliment his inside game, but he's got a decent jumper out to about 17 or 18 feet. I don't see Ike miss many shots (jumpers included).

Clif25 wrote:Because if we just put him in the post against other starting PF's, or centers, then I think he will struggle

Maybe. But, then again, in the game against Detroit in November, Ike was paired up with Rasheed Wallace (6'11") for 30 minutes and scored over 25 points. Sheed was confused on how to guard such a combination of inside/outside game. His 25+ points also included a jam over the 3-time, 3-time, 3-time Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Wallace. I think you're concerns about Ike being undersized may yet be addressed by his physical play, combined with a sweet touch. If given more minutes to prove himself, I think Ike could silence many of the nagging doubts Warriors fans still have surrounding him.

Yes, I know the listed measurements of Diogu. But he just seems smaller than 6-8 out there. He often seems to blend in with Richardson and Pietrus at times, with his height.

Also, his height mostly effects his rebounding. Diogu for a post player has a low rebound/minute ratio. The last time I checked, I believe the stat was 2.90 rebounds in 14.6 minutes. Against the TWolves he just had 1 rebound(it was offensive) in about 17 minutes.

Now the other part, probably has to do with him being misused. But to me rebounding looks like a problem. I am not sure if starting a post player who can't rebound so well, is in the best interest of the Warriors, especially when there are players like Biedrins and Taft who can come in and play center(the position where need to fill that spot is bigger) who can rebound, defend, and score a little bit at least. It seems as if Diogu would become kind of like a Zach Randolph with maybe a little better defense, if he were a starter. Which isn't so bad, but not so much needed.

Well, I think a large part of his low rebounding numbers is because of his playing time. He'll never be Troy Murphy and average 10 boards a game, but when Ike plays 25 minutes or more during games, he averages 7.75 rebounds. He's not bad at rebounding; but his minutes really hurt his stats.